​​The Round of 64 for Sound of the City's own version of March Madness—in which you, the Sound of the City voting public, help determine the quintessential New York musician—continues, and you get to vote on who makes it to Round Two. We'll have some first-round results later today, but for now, it's a battle of rhymes, as the eminent rapper Rakim takes on the duo of Mos Def and Talib Kweli, who are teamed up in the tournament under the Black Star moniker. Check out our arguments in favor of each, and vote at Facebook.

More >>

​Rappers loved Amy Winehouse. The British warbler might not have collaborated with rap chaps to the extent that Mary J Blige has, but when she passed away earlier this year she did so leaving behind a discernible trail of hip-hop goodies. And the songs suggest there was a genuine bond and shared mentality between Winehouse and her rap suitors, unlike many a cobbled-together rapper-meets-singer tryst.

The posthumous project Lioness: Hidden Treasures, which has input from longtime Winehouse producer Salaam Remi and guest spots from Nas and ?uestlove, comes out this week. Here are Winehouse's ten most persuasive dalliances with the rap world.

More >>

​Last week, the Detroit-based rapper and one-time J Dilla collaborator Elzhi released Elmatic. It's the second time a rapper has re-written and re-made Nas's hallowed Illmatic, with Fashawn attempting a similar feat last year. As a listening experience, Elmatic is less than convincing, leaving you continually pining for Nas's original lyrics (which isn't surprising, as they've been recited like holy hip-hop scriptures by rap fans since 1994). But beyond its artistic merits, Elmatic is more notable for being an addition to the tiny body of hip-hop songs covered by other rap artists.

Cover versions may abound in other genres, but hip-hop has a history of shying away from them. This may be due to the high importance of lyrical originality--as Masta Ace put it on the Juice Crew's "The Symphony," "There's a sign at the door: 'No Biting Allowed.' " Even homaging other artists through invoking short snippets of their lyrics is seen as grounds for a dis (Nas to Jay-Z: "How much of Biggie's rhymes is gonna come out your fat lips?"). So while there's an accepted tradition of freestyling over someone else's beat on a mixtape, and the sub-strain of what are technically answer records like Salt-N-Pepa (as Super Nature) responding to Doug E Fresh & Slick Rick's "The Show" with "The Show Stoppa," whole-hearted rap covers remain the genre's curio. Here then is a tribute to the brave souls who have dared reinvent the raps of others--with varying results.

More >>

These Are Powers play in the basement. Maybe. Who knows, really. Photo by Rebecca Smeyne.

​Truth is an ever-shifting creature in the confines of Damon Dash's infamous 172 Duane Street Tribeca loft. The venue began as Under 100, before we got the place (allegedly) shut down; shortly after that, it reared its majestic head once more in an article in the Observer, this time going by the name DD172, and marketing itself as a Warhol-esque hipster factory hosting everything from art collectives to hot blondes. Then it turned out Under 100 was actually alive and well as a venue--until it wasn't, anyway, and so the cycle of confusion continued. Now, no less a persona than Mos Def has chimed in, calling the Observer out for lying about his role in the place.

More >>

Well, two Dirty Projectors, anyway. The Roots and Jimmy Fallon conscripted Amber Coffman and Haley Dekle last Wednesday to back Mos Def and Talib Kweli on "History," from Mos' most recent album. Always happy to see this show try something different. (And to reunite such potent creative partners.) But it's more than a bit dismaying to see the arrangement here replicate that lousy quality familiar from most DP songs, in which Coffman and Dekle sort of punch in and out as if they were robots (or, you know, figments of Longstreth's creative imagination). Rarely do a set of vocalists get so consistently typecast as pure, sound-producing instruments--it's as if Longstreth had lent Questlove his spare xylophone or something. Overreaction? Probably. It's not like they're singing against their will. But consider us a bit skeeved out, regardless.

More proof that Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is targeted straight at rap nerds: Mos Def and Jimmy Fallon spontaneously covering Run-DMC's "It's Tricky." Also: points to Mos Def for doing the classic shutting-down-the-white-guy-rapping thing after like nine seconds. Below, Mos and the Roots do "Casa Bey," a song muso-d out to the point where even Black Thought passed on being on the actual record. No problems here though.

More >>

One of the things most entertaining slash most infuriating about rappers straying, whether intentionally or otherwise, onto political talk shows is the inability of their hosts and fellow guests to call them by their given names. Hence a smirking Dennis Miller calling Young Jeezy both "Emphysema" and "Little Weezy" as a cackling Bill O'Reilly looks on. Next up? A scotch-quaffing Christopher Hitchens interrupting a spirited debate on nuclear proliferation with Salman Rushdie, Bill Maher, and Mos Def to ask the rapper if he can call him "Mr. Definitely," which at least is satirical attempt to provide the man with an extra honorific, rather than, say, comparing him to a sad and occasionally deadly disease. It's certainly no worse than Mos Def's own riff on Obama taking your daughters, legalizing weed, and making every day casual Monday. Bonus: Rushdie celebrating the demise of the famous banker practice known as "spraying clubs with bottles of Cristal."

Second video below.

More >>